Exercise a ‘good start’ to long season of ORI preparation

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Nearly 500 Airmen of the 100th Air Refueling Wing completed a Phase I and Phase II exercise Dec. 11 - the first in a six-part series of exercises focused on preparing the wing for an operational readiness inspection in October 2009. 

The scenario entailed personnel and equipment from RAF Mildenhall deploying to a Balkan country in response to a conflict as an air refueling support package to refuel fighters enforcing a no-fly zone. 

"This was a good kick off to a long season of ORI prep," said Lt. Col. Greg Schaelling, 100th ARW inspector general. "We have to get the deployment machine working well. With a good baseline established, we can then move forward with improvements." 

The Phase I portion of the exercise began Dec. 5 with a warning order from U.S. Air Forces in Europe. During a real-world deployment, combatant commanders or task force commanders identify a need to the Air Force and USAFE. Then USAFE fills that requirement by tasking appropriate units within the command. A warning order precedes a deployment order, which came down Dec. 8 and officially started the "bag-drag" portion of the exercise. 

"The whole wing appeared to have a good sense of urgency during the Phase I portion," Colonel Schaelling said. "They were engaged. Processing people went well." 

According to Tech. Sgt. Doug Ray, 100th ARW NCOIC of inspections and readiness, one of the biggest challenges is preparing and shipping hazardous cargo. 

"When a pallet rolls out, inspectors at the Cargo Deployment Function perform quality control inspections to make sure the cargo conforms to safety requirements," Sergeant Ray said. "The inspectors check it all, and then logistics personnel finalize load plans. It's one of the more difficult parts of a Phase I. It's not surprising that we need to practice more. If cargo is late, we break chalk times - and we don't want late airplanes." 

The Phase II exercise took place in a new "play" area on the south side of the base. The exercise area was an improvement compared to previous exercises, Colonel Schaelling said, and the Phase II success validated a year-long struggle to locate a suitable area. ATSO players underwent simulated attacks by conventional and chemical weapons, responded to simulated injuries, and even had to make command decisions during a power outage scenario. 

"Even though it was only a 14 hour Phase II exercise, we were able to have two shifts, and we cycled through various (mission oriented protective postures) and alarm conditions," he said. "Since the play area was new, it was a trial by fire. Twenty minutes after the exercise started, they were getting attacked, so it took a little while to get into the swing of things. But the wing kept at it and adapted well." 

The next ORI prep exercise is in January 2009. The scenario will be different, but will continue to test the wing's ability to deploy. More exercises will follow through the spring and summer months, culminating in the operational readiness inspection. Colonel Schaelling and Sergeant Ray both emphasized how important unit inputs are to truly testing capabilities during an exercise. 

"It's all about input from the unit commanders and exercise evaluation team members," Sergeant Ray said. "They know their people's strengths and weaknesses. An exercise is only as good as the inputs incorporated into the master scenario events listing. We rely on the experts to make the exercise as realistic as possible."